


Question

by newbatgirl



Series: Two of Us [8]
Category: Smallville
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-28
Updated: 2011-01-28
Packaged: 2017-10-15 04:32:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/157059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newbatgirl/pseuds/newbatgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU “Two of Us” Universe.<br/>Lois thinks that Chloe and Oliver should be moving in the “forever” direction but is worried that her love-shy cousin is going to screw it up. Lois' POV. A (hopefully) fun one-shot written for those readers who are sad about the Lois' ultimate fate in this universe.<br/>Disclaimer: All familiar characters are owned by the CW and DC Comics. Only the plot is mine.<br/>Pairing: Chlollie, Clois</p>
            </blockquote>





	Question

**Author's Note:**

> The chronological order of stories in the “Two of Us” universe is now:
> 
> Two of Us  
> Shout Out Loud  
> Question  
> How Soon is Now  
> Want  
> Beautiful Side of Somewhere  
> Nightblindness  
> Father and Daughter  
> Sleep Better

_...Metropolis...a downtown restaurant...early evening..._  
  
Lois checked her watch and looked at the three empty chairs at the table. Was she the only one capable of telling time?

She could give Clark a pass for being late since they'd heard on the police scanner on the drive over that there was some kind of fire downtown. Clark had dashed off to see if the firefighters needed help, promising to be back as soon as possible. As for her other dinner companions, Chloe and Oliver, Lois had a pretty good idea of what was holding up those two.

They'd probably found an unoccupied flat surface in his apartment that they couldn't remember “christening” and were now in the midst of doing just that, dinner date be damned.

Ever since they had started actually openly dating - and not just pining for each other – they'd been inseparable and pretty damn insatiable from what Lois could tell.

Chloe stubbornly refused to give Lois all the details of their obviously active sex life but the implication was clear. Chloe almost never came back to the Talon apartment during the week any more, preferring to stay in Metropolis with Oliver “to work” – yeah, right.

When Chloe did drag herself away from her computers or out of Oliver's apartment into the light of day – often when she ran out of clean clothes or needed something else from home - Oliver came along with her. Right at her heels. Like they were some weird set of blond Siamese twins. He'd park himself on their couch or on Chloe's bed, doing very little other than lovesick gazing. 

OK, maybe that part wasn't exactly true. He'd work on this laptop, talk on his phone, eat, talk to Clark if he was there, or talk to her  - while doing all the lovesick gazing. This had been going on for months now. Months. That was a lot of gazing.

Lois had given up wondering if Oliver had ever looked at her that way when they were dating because she already knew the answer. It didn't bother her. She and Oliver wouldn't have fit. Just like Chloe and Clark wouldn't have fit either.

The fact was, Oliver Queen had it bad for Chloe Sullivan. Really bad. And vice versa. Everyone had known that for a while. Well, everybody except Clark. And now even he had gotten the memo. 

Now that they were together, all out in the open, there was no containing them. Even though they both seemed to have working knowledge of public decency laws, the looks they exchanged alone were often hotter than that fire Clark was currently putting out downtown. And they didn't seem to mind that everyone could see them, either. 

Unless they were working, they were in full-on romance-novel mode pretty much all the time. Although to their credit, when other people asked them to dial the PDA down a notch, they generally complied. 

Other times, they left the room, which just made everyone laugh. 

They even used the “L” word for goodness sake. Already! Now they actually didn't fling it around in front of everyone but Lois may have seen it in some texts she'd peeked at on Chloe's phone a couple of times. And she may have overheard it in some quiet conversations that Oliver and Chloe had in the apartment when they thought she was asleep. 

All of that was Chloe's fault, anyway. If she had simply given more details when Lois asked, she wouldn't have needed to resort to snooping. And the “L” word thing was huge and totally worth sharing. It had only been a few months. Of course, they lived their lives at a different speed than most people. And knowing the luck that Chloe and Ollie had had with previous relationships to date, if they were using the “L” word, they weren't using it lightly. For that reason, and only that reason, Lois decided not to be mad at Chloe for not sharing

It was hard for Lois to be anything but happy for them. More than happy. Thrilled. If anyone deserved this kind of happy, it was them.

It was also hard for her not to hope that Clark could feel that way about her someday. If not him, someone else. But, secretly she hoped it would be Clark. Because it should be.

And Lois wasn't bitter or jealous. Quite the opposite. She was beyond thrilled that her cousin and Oliver were together. If Lois was honest, they weren't that annoying with the PDA and lovesick gazing, they were kind of cute. OK, more than kind of. They were outrageously cute. 

The way that Oliver was always playing with Chloe's hair? Cute. The way that Chloe would stand on her tip toes to speak directly into Oliver's ear? Cute. Even the “we know something everyone else doesn't” looks they exchanged were kind of cute, though done in excess they could be a little annoying so it was good that they didn't do it too often. Most of the time it was just the gazing, the hair thing, and the kissing. All still cute and all still this side of the tolerable line as far as Lois was concerned.

And if they stayed together, they could make some outrageously cute blond babies. How fun would that be? She would be an aunt! Lois thought babies, especially other peoples' babies, were adorable. Imagine how adorable babies that were actually related to her would be? Off the charts. Non-stop shopping spree in the fancy children's clothing store kind of adorable.

The problem though, as Lois saw it, was that she wasn't going to get any cute blond nieces or nephews (and she was really hoping for nieces) if Chloe did what she typically did with men, which was panic.

If she panicked and let her self-esteem issues fool her into believing anything other than the obvious, which was that Oliver adored her. Knowing Chloe, as things got more serious, she'd start to feel more certain that she wasn't what Ollie really wanted and start to subconsciously pull herself out of the relationship.

Lois couldn't let that happen. 

She'd never seen Chloe this happy before. She'd never seen Oliver this happy before for that matter but Chloe was family, and therefore more important. She couldn't let Chloe mess this up. Even if it meant being appointing herself General Lane of the Love Army, she was going to keep Chloe from messing up what was probably her best shot at a forever kind of relationship. Which was what she wanted more than anything. Lois knew that, even if Chloe wouldn't admit it. 

Lois checked her watch again and briefly considered calling Chloe's cell phone. They were less than ten minutes late. She should give them until at least 15 before she started yelling, right? 

Right. 

Lois sighed, picked up another bread stick, and shrugged at the nearby waiter. Five more minutes and then the gloves came off.

Finally, three long minutes later, Lois spotted a flash of gold hair and sighed in relief as she saw her cousin moving through the tables towards her. Her relief faded when she realized that Chloe was alone.

Lois looked behind her for Oliver and frowned when she didn't see him trailing close by. What was up with that?

As soon as Chloe took her seat, she pounced. “What happened to the twins?”

Chloe's eyes went saucer-wide and Lois noticed that they were slightly red. “Wh-what?” Chloe asked.

“You and Oliver, you're like Siamese twins these days. Why isn't he here? And why are your eyes red? Oh my God, sweetie, have you been crying?”

“Yes, but ---”

Lois sagged against her chair. Crap. How could she have let this happen? Chloe was bolting already. She obviously should have intervened sooner. She cut off Chloe's response. 

“Oh no, whatever you said, whatever he said, we can fix it. I'll fix it. You two can't be trusted. I'll take care of it, leave everything to me. My God, I shouldn't have let you two out of my sight!”

“Lois, what are you talking about?” Chloe's red-rimmed eyes were now wide with confusion. “And where's Clark?”

“Forget Clark. This is probably his fault anyway. His dumb teenage self screwed up your self esteem so much that you're going to wreck the best thing that's ever happened to you. Don't let him! I won't let him. And I won't let you do it, even if you don't realize you're doing it. Give me your phone, let me call Oliver.”

“But Oliver is--”

Lois cut her off, agitation rising.

“A great guy who's completely head over heels in love with you. No matter what you think. Everyone sees it. Why can't you? Forget it, I'll use my own phone.” Lois pulled out her cell and began scrolling through her contact list for Oliver's number.

Chloe reached over and covered the phone with her hand so Lois would stop dialing. “Lois, what are you even talking about? You are freaking me out here.”

“That's the problem!” Lois shot back. “You always freak out in relationships but thankfully, I'm here to stop you this time. I told you, I'll fix it.”

“How? By freaking out more?”

Lois opened her mouth to answer but she spotted Oliver's tall frame weaving through the tables. “Oh, thank God, he's here.” Lois was out of her seat in a flash and grabbed Oliver by the elbow to pull him towards the table.

“Lois? What the Hell?”

“Whatever she said to you, she didn't mean it. Chloe sometimes talks without thinking. You can't fault her for it. It's a family thing. We all do it.”

“I sure hope she meant what she said to me,” Oliver said, with some humor in his voice. 

What in all of this could he possibly find to laugh at? 

“Sit down,” Lois commanded Oliver. “This isn't funny, you idiot. This is important. This is your future we're talking about.”

“But---” Lois pushed against his chest with all her might and, caught off guard, he fell backwards into the chair next to Chloe. “Lois, have you lost your mind? What are you doing?”

“Fixing this mess. Whatever you did or said that made my cousin cry, take it back!” She turned to Chloe. “And whatever you did or said that made him say or do it in the first place, tell him that you didn't mean it!”

Chloe and Oliver exchanged looks. “No!” they said in unison.

Still standing, Lois stamped her foot. “You idiots, you absolute stubborn idiots! You love each other! Why are you doing this? How am I ever going to get my nieces now? Do you have any idea of the amount of adorable clothes they have out for little girls these days?”

Oliver leaned closer to Chloe, without taking his eyes off Lois. “Do we...uh...think she's possessed again?”

Chloe stood and grabbed Lois' shoulders. “Let's try it this way, Lo. Take a deep breath and then  _you_  tell us what you think is going on here, OK?”

“You two--”

“Deep breath first!” 

Lois nodded and took a deep breath. 

“Again,” Chloe commanded and Lois obeyed. 

Finally she spoke, pointing a finger at Chloe, then Oliver. “You two are fighting because you got all insecure about your relationship and said something that made him defensive. And then he said something that made you cry. And then you came here to talk to me. And then Oliver...well, actually, I'm not sure why Oliver is here. Why  _are_ you here?”

Oliver ignored her as he rose to his feet and stared at Chloe. “Is she for real?”

“Unfortunately, I think so. Lois, Ollie and I aren't fighting. Where did you get the idea that we were?”

“You came in here alone!” Lois protested. “You're never alone anymore!”

“I was parking the car and we were already late so Chloe thought she should come in first so you wouldn't freak out!” Oliver exclaimed. Turning to Chloe he added, “Dodged that bullet, didn't we?”

“But if you aren't fighting, why was she crying? Your eyes are all red, Chlo, don't try to deny it.”

Oliver's eyes rolled towards the ceiling. “She's crying because, contrary to her vehement denials, she is, in fact, one of those women who cry when they're happy and she's happy because I asked her to marry me about an hour ago and she said yes!” Oliver leaned forward and stared into Lois' blank eyes. “Any of this gettin' through the firewall?”

Lois blinked and made a weak noise in her throat as she shifted her gaze from Oliver to Chloe. “Married?” she squeaked.

Chloe held up her left hand and wiggled her fingers. There on her finger was an exquisite platinum and emerald ring. “ _Hel_ -lo.” 

Lois made an O-shape with her mouth and looked around the restaurant, realizing that many of the diners had abandoned their meals and were now staring at them openly. 

“So...you're not fighting?” she said quietly.

Chloe and Oliver shook their heads and replied in unison again. “No.”

“And you're getting married?”

“Yes.”

Lois sniffled as tears filled her eyes. “Why didn't you just tell me that in the first place?” she wailed. She threw her arms around Chloe and pulled her cousin towards her. 

Over Chloe's shoulder she saw Oliver throw up his hands and nod helplessly towards a waiter. “Champagne.  _Biiiiiiig_  bottle.”

“And three straws!” Lois added playfully, then frowned when Oliver shook his head at the waiter. He was no fun.

Chloe pulled back from Lois and tucked her hand into Oliver's, smiling up at him. Then she blushed when she realized that the other patrons were now clapping for them. Oliver didn't seem to mind the attention as much and he leaned down to kiss her lips and pull her into his arms, tucking her head under his chin when they came up for air.

Watching them, Lois clapped her hands and jumped up and down a bit. “You're still together! You didn't freak out!”

Chloe shook her head incredulously. “There wasn't enough freak-out left in the universe for me after what you just did.”

Lois kept clapping. “You're getting married! You're going to make me adorable little blonde nieces!”

Oliver squinted. “Ah, I think I just figured out the rant about the girl clothes. This is bad, she's starting to make sense.”

“Can we sit down now?” Chloe asked through her teeth, eyes darting around the room. “This is kind of embarrassing.”

They took their seats again, Oliver moved his seat closer to Chloe's and kept her right hand in his. They kept staring at each other in that way they did that made everyone else feel like they weren't really there. Lois wouldn't have it. She grabbed Chloe's left hand to see the ring more closely.

Emeralds. Oliver's obsession with the color green knew no bounds. Oh well, Chloe didn't seem to care.

“So? How did he ask?” she demanded. “It had better have been good.”

Chloe reluctantly tore her gaze away from Oliver. “Hmmmm?”

Lois rolled her eyes. “How did he ask you?”

Chloe blushed again. “I can't tell you. It's private.”

“It's bullshit! This is  _me_. You can't not tell me!”

Oliver snorted smugly, eyes still on Chloe. “Watch her. If there's one thing my fiancee can do, it's keep a secret.”

“Stay out of this, this doesn't concern you.” Lois snapped, then turned her gaze to Chloe again. “Did he at least spring for flowers? Music? Oooh, did he hire an orchestra?”

“I'm not going to tell you so stop asking...where's Clark?”

Lois waved her hand dismissively. “Something's on fire...somewhere. We need to start planning the wedding. We need to set a date. We need to find a venue. My God, we need to find a dress, no... _dresses_!”

“You need to stop using the word 'we'”, Oliver interjected, fixing Lois with a warning stare. “You are not taking control of this. It's our wedding. We will handle it.”

“You're going to need my help. I'm awesome at this kind of thing and you two certainly can't be trusted to do it on your own.”

The waiter reappeared, carrying a tray with a bottle of champagne and three glasses. As he was setting them down in front of them, Clark appeared, smelling faintly of smoke. “Hey, guys...sorry I'm late.” He kissed Lois' cheek, then Chloe's, and nodded at Oliver before sitting down.

“We're going to need another glass, please,” Chloe asked the waiter, pulling her hand from Lois'. “And menus.”

Clark looked at the champagne, then at Lois. “So...what'd I miss?”

Lois' face brightened and she clapped her hands together before Chloe or Oliver could even open their mouths. “We have news!”

Oliver groaned and reached for the champagne. He filled a flute to the top and handed it to Chloe. 

“Here you go, Sidekick. You're going to need this. When she gets to the guest list, I'll hand you the bottle.”

 **The End.**  
  
AN: Pretty clear inspiration story on this one. I'm sitting in my car and this awesome Old 97s song comes on. Then Lois started talking in my head and would not shut up until I got to my laptop.

 _Someday, somebody's gonna ask you_  
The question that you should say "yes" to  
Once in your life  
Maybe tonight I've got a question for you  
-Question, Old 97's

  



End file.
